Science Pub Portland: Curing Blindness

We still have plenty of tickets available for tonight's Science Pub so we hope you will join us!

Curing Blindness: Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Diet

With Martha Neuringer, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University

October 16, 2018 | 7-9PM; Doors Open @ 5PM | All Ages

$5 advance purchase for guaranteed seats; $5 suggested donation at the door. Tickets available online or at the OMSI front desk until 11:59pm the day prior to the event; see below for details.

Many forms of inherited blindness are caused by mutations in a single gene. Gene therapies have great potential for replacing the missing gene and thereby curing these disabling diseases. The first such therapy has been successful enough to gain FDA approval this year. Other types of therapies, including stem cell-based treatments, also show promise, especially for more complex causes of vision loss.

In this talk, neuroscientist Martha Neuringer will discuss new advances in research to preserve vision. She will explain how gene therapy and cell-based therapies work and will describe the road to early successes and the challenges and prospects for future research. She will also discuss preventative strategies for the most common cause of age-related vision loss.

Martha Neuringer, Ph.D. received a B.A. and Ph.D. in Physiological Psychology from Harvard. She came to Oregon for a postdoctoral fellowship at the Oregon National Primate Research Center where she has conducted research on visual and brain development, aging and disease. She is currently Professor of Neuroscience at ONPRC and Research Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at OHSU’s Casey Eye Institute. Current research focusing on the use of nonhuman primate models to develop therapies of retinal disease and on nutritional factors in eye and brain health. She recently received the Stein Innovation Award from Research to Prevent Blindness.

OMSI Science Pub at the Empirical Theater is a ticketed event. To guarantee a seat at this event, please buy tickets online or at the OMSI front desk. Advanced tickets will be available for purchase until 11:59pm the day prior to the event. Please show your ticket at the theater entrance upon arrival.

If the event sells out, we will update the website and Facebook listings accordingly. If the event does not sell out in advance, attendance will be first-come, first-served at the door and at-the-door admission will remain a suggested donation.

There will no longer be official seat reservations available at the door. You are welcome to reserve a seat with your jacket or sweater.

Science Pub OMSI is a monthly event that is open to anyone and everyone – no scientific background required. Just bring your curiosity, sense of humor, and appetite for food, drinks and knowledge! For more information or to sign up for our mailing list, email: sciencepub@omsi.edu.

Theory, OMSI's eatery will be open with pizza, salads and ice cream. The Empirical Cafe will be open with sandwiches and snacks. Both locations have alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Food and drink are welcome in the theater. Parking is free for the event. Doors open at 5pm.